Indieview – Ackk Studios: \”It\’s Always Been a Dream to Make a Game for a Nintendo Console\”

Over the past months we\’ve worked on numerous interviews with developers, but were always asked to interview Ackk Studios by you our readers. Well the time has come, just months ahead of the release of their first game Two Brothers, and the incoming unveil of their next game Project Y2K. We asked co-founder Andrew Allanson some questions about their journey becoming an approved Nintendo developer, and their two projects.

You\’re bringing both Two Brothers and Project Y2K to the Wii U…How long have the games been in development?

Two Brothers has been in development for Two Years and One Month. Project Y2K has been in development for about a year.

What platforms will the games be available on?

Two Brothers will be out on PC/Mac/Linux later this month is available for pre-order. Later it will appear on Wii U, PS4, PSV and XBOX 360.

Which games inspired Two Brothers?

Legend of Zelda Links Awakening, Sword of Mana series, The Mother series mainly…

What is Project Y2K? Can we have a hint? Suspense is killing us!

Project Y2K is a turn based RPG set in the 1990s. It tells the story of a young man who has recently graduated college and is thrust into a crazy tale of quantum mechanics and multi dimensional gameplay.

Who are Ackk Studios? How many people are currently working for Ackk Studios and who are they?

It\’s an exciting time to own a Wii U as a wave of new games are about to land, many of which are indie-developed..What make Two Brothers unique?

Absolutely! Two Brothers takes a long hard look at death in video games… when the player is killed in combat or triggers a deadly trap, instead of being greeted a familiar GAMEOVER screen, the player finds himself in what we call the \”Afterlife Hub\”. This realm of the dead is a colorful and mysterious place where the player can explore, find clues, and interact with characters who have passed on in the games story… sometimes even bringing some of them back from the dead. When the player wants to return to gameplay, they can jump from the edge of the heavens and get back in to the action and exploration! This mechanic is vital to the gameplay, as sometimes interacting with the dead is just as important as interacting with the living… this feature often requires the player intentionally ending their session in a game over, just to cross over to the other side.

When will we find out more about Project Y2K?

We\’ll reveal our next project sometime in spring 2014.

How much gameplay have you crammed into Two Brothers?

LOADS! 17-24 hours about!

How far into research and development of the Wii U versions are you?

About 75%!

Have you looked into the platforms unique abilities such as Miiverse or perhaps some asymmetric gameplay? What about touch or motion controls?

We\’ll make an announcement about this super soon!

When could you currently see the Wii U versions launching?

February 2014.

The Wii U has garnered a lot of negative press since it\’s launch last year,why did you decide to bring your games to the platform?

Nintendo has it\’s ups and it\’s downs like every other console developer… but at the end of the day IT\’S NINTENDO! It\’s always been a dream to make a game for a Nintendo Console… and even if not a lot of people aren\’t making games for it… doesn\’t mean I shouldn\’t.

Do you think Nintendo are on the right track to improve the perception of the console and if not, what could they do?

I think they will be by the end of next year… perhaps they jumped the gun on the systems release. Once Smash & Wind Waker are out loads of people won\’t be able to resist the console.

You were one of the first indie developers to come to the Wii U, how did you find the process of becoming an approved developer?

It was amazingly easy for us. Some standard paperwork, a few emails… a few weeks later we had our hardware and were good to go!Dan Adleman is in charge of the indies… and he is really great.

Once development is complete, what\’s on the cards next for Ackk Studios?

Get a public demo ready for our next game! We want the world to play it to see what it\’s all about… so we\’ll make a demo live around the same day we unveil it.

Do you see additional content being created for either game?

We\’re very old school… Links Awakening was perfect the way it was because they couldn\’t add anything six months later to steal more of peoples money… so we\’re aiming for that.

Do you see yourself developing more games for the Wii U or perhaps even the 3DS

Of course!

For all the latest news about Two Brothers and Project Y2K, stay tuned to Nintendo Enthusiast.

I’m the Developer Liaison at Nintendo Enthusiast, and when I’m not working my butt off at the toy store I manage, I’m talking with developers from around the world, promoting crowd-funding campaigns, conducting interviews and also offering advice and support to developers looking to bring their games to Wii U & 3DS.

Glad to see someone fully supporting Nintendo....it's about time someone gave them the credit they deserve and quit treating them like shit because Nintendo isn't listening to everything fans say or doing what their competitors-mainly Sony and Microsoft- are doing, as Sony and Microsoft have made as grave mistakes, if not worse, than Nintendo in the past and in recent memory. Am I right? Or do I just sound like a stupid fan boy on the Internet right now?

Glad to see someone fully supporting Nintendo....it's about time someone gave them the credit they deserve and quit treating them like shit because Nintendo isn't listening to everything fans say or doing what their competitors-mainly Sony and Microsoft- are doing, as Sony and Microsoft have made as grave mistakes, if not worse, than Nintendo in the past and in recent memory. Am I right? Or do I just sound like a stupid fan boy on the Internet right now?

YES! Awesome Interview as usual. I want this game now, but i'll wait for wii u version(i'm a sucker for off-screen play). I'm definitely getting earthbound vibes from that little bit of info. can't wait to see project y2k!

YES! Awesome Interview as usual. I want this game now, but i'll wait for wii u version(i'm a sucker for off-screen play). I'm definitely getting earthbound vibes from that little bit of info. can't wait to see project y2k!

[…] Indieview: Ackk Studios' Andrew Allanson talks 'Two Brothers' and 'Project Y2K' Indieview – Ackk Studios: "It's Always Been a Dream to Make a Game for a Nintendo Console"… Also discusses inspirations, the Wii U, what the process of becoming an approved Wii U developer […]